Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandaughter sentenced to 7 yrs in jail

Johannesburg: Ashish Lata Ramgobin, the 56-year-old great-granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a Durban court in a six-million rand (USD 442,000) fraud and forgery case.

Ramgobin is the daughter of renowned human rights activist Ela Gandhi and late Mewa Ramgobind, who have both played instrumental roles in reviving the Phoenix Settlement established by Gandhi during his tenure in South Africa.

A self-employed mother of two, Ramgobin was found to have defrauded businessman S R Maharaj after he advanced rand 6.2 million to her after she promised a share of large profits, allegedly to clear import and customs duties for a non-existent consignment from India.

Ramgobin was also refused leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Monday.